Dark Skies in Flagstaff
2 places · Stars above the desert floor
Flagstaff, AZ
Lowell Observatory
Lowell Observatory, founded in 1894, is where Pluto was discovered in 1930. Flagstaff was the first International Dark Sky City, and the observatory benefits from municipal lighting ordinances that preserve dark skies. The historic Clark Telescope dome and modern Discovery Channel Telescope provide iconic foreground subjects for night sky photography.
Flagstaff, AZ
Anderson Mesa Dark Sky Site
Anderson Mesa is a basalt-capped plateau southeast of Flagstaff that hosts several U.S. Naval Observatory and Lowell Observatory research telescopes. The mesa's 7,200-foot elevation and distance from Flagstaff's light dome provide Bortle Class 2-3 conditions. The flat, open terrain of the mesa top with scattered ponderosa pines offers accessible dark sky photography with natural foreground elements.